Jason, Reyna, and Others Read The Lost Hero
by 100gamesvictor
Summary: Jason, Reyna, and others are at meeting when they receive TLH. They begin reading it. This takes place about four weeks before TLH. Please read. Suck at reviews, i know.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, I'm trying my hand at this Characters read the books idea. I love them. They're so funny. I set it at Camp Jupiter about four weeks before TLH. Enjoy.**

**P.S. I don't own any ot the bold words, the characters, etc. Sigh. I wish I was that brilliant. Rick Riordan is AMAZING!**

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All was quiet at Camp Jupiter. The Cohorts were training, the workers were working, all was peaceful. Jason sat alongside Reyna. They were speaking with the Centurions of the Cohorts. Suddenly, the entire room was sealed off and two more people were thrown from thin air. The Centurions, Octavian, Bobby, Larry, Hank, Gwendolyn all turned to witness the new arrivals. Hazel and Dakota look around warily. Their eyes were still unfocused from the change.

Then, a dark figure emerged from the shadows. He looked around the room before saying "My father told me to come here."

Reyna nodded. She rose from her chair and welcomed him. "Hello Nico. It's lovely to see you. May I ask what everyone is doing here?"

Suddenly, a large package fell from the sky. It landed with a THUD! Larry walked over hesitantly and poked at it. He turned to Reyna and Jason. "It's just a book."

Gwendolyn walked over to the package and said "There's a note attached to it:

_Hello Demigods,_

_This is a book about the future. You'll all love reading it. It will give an excellent amount of insight into the future. Oh, Nico. Don't say anything until everything is revealed._

_~The Gods(especially Apollo)_

"So we've just got to read these books about the future? Well, I'm in." Hazel said with a shrug.

Larry looked at the book cautiously. It seemed safe enough, he decided. However, That could mean anything. After a moment, he sighed. "Alright, let's read."

Bobby grinned. "Oh yeah. This'll be real good. Let's get on with it."

Hank was the same as Bobby. There's nothing to worry about. If the gods sent it then it's perfectly safe. "Can we get the show on the road?"

Gwendolyn looked anxiously at the book. She didn't like the thought of what they might find. However, she really wanted to know. That being said, she uttered the word "Fine."

Reyna has always believed that knowledge is power. Whomever has the most knowledge has the most power. Therefore, when saked what she thought, she said "Let's do it. Think of all we'll learn."

Jason on the other hand, wasn't so happy. A bad feeling was sinking in. He wouldn't like how this turned out. This wasn't something that he would want to be around for. However, he was a praetor of New Rome. He can't just turn his back and run with his tail between his legs when he's scared. Therefore, when asked what he thought, he said "It doesn't matter what I say, so I guess that we'll be reading."

Octavian stared at the books lustfully. "Let's read."

"Alright," Jason said. He picked up the book and read

**EVEN BEFORE HE GOT ELECTROCUTED, Jason was having a rotten day.**

Bobby grinned maniacally. "Aw yeah! The book's about you Jason. Let's see if we can get some dirt."

Jason glared at Bobby. However, there was a slight look of wariness in his gaze that somehow made Bobby grin even wider. "Will you shut up?"

Bobby chuckled. "Nope."

Reyna sighed. "Alright, get back to the reading."

**He woke in the backseat of a school bus, not sure where he was, holding hands with a girl he didn't know. **

Now Larry was confused. "Why's that rotten. Is the girl ugly?"

Jason, exasperated, said "I don't know! This hasn't happened yet!"

**That wasn't necessarily the rotten part. The girl was cute, but he couldn't figure out who she was or what he was doing there. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to think.**

**A few dozen kids sprawled in the seats in front of him, listening to iPods, talking, or sleeping. They all looked around his age … fifteen? Sixteen? Okay, that was scary. He didn't know his own age.**

Reyna looked at Jason, concern lacing her features. "Are you alright?"

Jason smiled slightly at her. "I'm sure I'm fine."

Dakota sighed and said "Get on with the reading."

**The bus rumbled along a bumpy road. Out the windows, desert rolled by under a bright blue sky. Jason was pretty sure he didn't live in the desert. He tried to think back … the last thing he remembered…**

**The girl squeezed his hand. "Jason, you okay?"**

**She wore faded jeans, hiking boots, and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her chocolate brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. She wore no makeup like she was trying not to draw attention to herself, but it didn't work.**

**She was seriously pretty. Her eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope—brown, blue, and green.**

Hank smiled slightly. "Jason, you have Reyna so…can I have this one?"

Jason, dark red said "Reyna and I aren't together, and I don't even know this girl."

With that, he continued reading.

**Jason let go of her hand. "Um, I don't—"**

**In the front of the bus, a teacher shouted, "All right, cupcakes, listen up!"**

**The guy was obviously a coach. His baseball cap was pulled low over his hair, so you could just see his beady eyes. He had a wispy goatee and a sour face, like he'd eaten something moldy. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt.**

**is nylon workout pants and Nikes were spotless white. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt. He would've looked pretty scary if he hadn't been five feet zero.**

"Who is this guy," Gwendolyn wondered. He as short, goatee. Sounds like a faun, but what would a faun be doing on a bus?

**When he stood up in the aisle, one of the students called, "Stand up, Coach Hedge!"**

**"I heard that!" The coach scanned the bus for the offender. Then his eyes fixed on Jason, and his scowl deepened.**

**A jolt went down Jason's spine. He was sure the coach knew he didn't belong there. He was going to call Jason out, demand to know what he was doing on the bus—and Jason wouldn't have a clue what to say.**

**But Coach Hedge looked away and cleared his throat. "We'll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way."**

**He picked up a baseball bat and made like he was hitting a homer.**

**Jason looked at the girl next to him. "Can he talk to us that way?"**

**She shrugged. "Always does. This is the Wilderness School. 'Where kids are the animals.'"**

**She said it like it was a joke they'd shared before.**

"Well," Bobby said. "You seem to know each other. Jason, are you living some secret dou—" Reyna shot him a look and he quickly quieted down.

Reyna was worried. Jason seemed to know this girl, or she knew him. What if they're together? Or what if they will get together.

Meanwhile, Jason thought that this girl seemed like someone that he could easily like. She seemed cool. However, that wasn't important. He's a Roman soldier. Love is unimportant. With that, h continued reading.

**"This is some kind of mistake," Jason said. "I'm not supposed to be here."**

**The boy in front of him turned and laughed. "Yeah, right, Jason. We've all been framed! I didn't run away six times. Piper didn't steal a BMW."**

Bobby cracked up. "AWSOME! How did she do that?" Gwendolyn looked at him with disdain slightly softened by affection.

**The girl blushed. "I didn't steal that car, Leo!"**

**"Oh, I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You 'talked' the dealer into lending it to you?"**

**He raised his eyebrows at Jason like, Can you believe her?**

**Leo looked like a Latino Santa's elf, **

**with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away this guy should not be trusted around matches or sharp objects. **

**His long, nimble fingers wouldn't stop moving—drumming on the seat, sweeping his hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of his army fatigue jacket. Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough sugar and caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo.**

"Jason," Dakota said. Jason looked at Dakota questioningly. "How do you know how much sugar it takes to give a water buffalo a heart attack?"

"Really, Dakota?"

Octavian scowled. "Can we get on with the reading?"

**"Anyway," Leo said, "I hope you've got your worksheet, 'cause I used mine for spit wads days ago. **

**Why are you looking at me like that? Somebody draw on my face again?"**

**"I don't know you," Jason said.**

**Leo gave him a crocodile grin. "Sure. I'm not your best friend. I'm his evil clone."**

**"Leo Valdez!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "Problem back there?"**

**Leo winked at Jason. "Watch this." He turned to the front. "Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?"**

**Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased to have an excuse. He unclipped the megaphone from his belt and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like Darth Vader's. The kids cracked up. The coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: "The cow says moo!"**

Dakota and Bobby cracked up at this. Everyone, save Octavian who was still scowling, managed to smile.

**The kids howled, and the coach slammed down the megaphone. "Valdez!"**

**Piper stifled a laugh. "My god, Leo. How did you do that?"**

**Leo slipped a tiny Phillips head screwdriver from his sleeve. "I'm a special boy."**

**"Guys, seriously," Jason pleaded. "What am I doing here? Where are we going?"**

**Piper knit her eyebrows. "Jason, are you joking?"**

**"No! I have no idea—"**

**"Aw, yeah, he's joking," Leo said. "He's trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the Jell-O thing, aren't you?"**

**Jason stared at him blankly.**

**"No, I think he's serious." Piper tried to take his hand again, but he pulled it away.**

**"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't—I can't—"**

**"That's it!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "The back row has just volunteered to clean up after lunch!"**

**The rest of the kids cheered.**

**"There's a shocker," Leo muttered.**

**But Piper kept her eyes on Jason, like she couldn't decide whether to be hurt or worried.**

**"Did you hit your head or something? You really don't know who we are?"**

Gwendolyn smiled sweetly at Jason. "Aw…she cares about you." A small smile touched Jason's lips. This girl intrigued him. Piper. Jason didn't think he'd ever met someone that cared like she did.

**Jason shrugged helplessly. "It's worse than that. I don't know who I am."**

**The bus dropped them in front of a big red stucco complex like a museum, just sitting in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that's what it was: the National Museum of Nowhere, Jason thought. A cold wind blew across the desert. Jason hadn't paid much attention to what he was wearing, but it wasn't nearly warm enough: jeans and sneakers, a purple T-shirt, and a thin black windbreaker.**

**"So, a crash course for the amnesiac," Leo said, in a helpful tone that made Jason think this was not going to be helpful. **

**"We go to the 'Wilderness School'"—Leo made air quotes with his fingers. "Which means we're 'bad kids.' Your family, or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison—sorry, 'boarding school'—in Armpit, Nevada, where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through the cacti and weaving daisies into hats! **

Hank asked "How is that at all useful?"

**And for a special treat we go on 'educational' field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it all coming back to you now?"**

**"No." Jason glanced apprehensively at the other kids: maybe twenty guys, half that many girls. None of them looked like hardened criminals, but he wondered what they'd all done to get sentenced to a school for delinquents, and he wondered why he belonged with rolled his eyes. "You're really gonna play this out, huh? Okay, so the three of us started here together this semester. We're totally tight. You do everything I say and give me your dessert and do my chores—"**

**"Leo!" Piper snapped.**

**"Fine. Ignore that last part. But we are friends. Well, Piper's a little more than your friend, the last few weeks—"**

Jason's face was tinged pink slightly at this. Something fluttered in his stomach.

Reyna's vision tinged red. Jealousy surged through her veins.

**"Leo, stop it!" Piper's face turned red. Jason could feel his face burning too. **

Bobby, Dakota, and Hank laughed. Here he was, their all-knowing leader, with his face burning with embarrassment.

Octavian made not of this. It's always good to have information after all. Also, as Praetor, he shouldn't show any emotion.

Gwendolyn smiled. "That's so sweet. Good luck, Jason. You deserve happiness."

**He thought he'd remember if he'd been going out with a girl like Piper.**

**"He's got amnesia or something," Piper said. "We've got to tell somebody."**

**Leo scoffed. "Who, Coach Hedge? He'd try to fix Jason by whacking him upside the head."**

**The coach was at the front of the group, barking orders and blowing his whistle to keep the kids in line; but every so often he'd glance back at Jason and scowl.**

**"Leo, Jason needs help," Piper insisted. "He's got a concussion or—"**

**"Yo, Piper." One of the other guys dropped back to join them as the group was heading into the museum. The new guy wedged himself between Jason and Piper and knocked Leo down. **

**"Don't talk to these bottom-feeders. You're my partner, remember?"**

Larry raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

Reyna was fuming inside. How dare someone talk about Jason like that?

**The new guy had dark hair cut Superman style, a deep tan, and teeth so white they should've come with a warning label: do not stare directly at teeth. permanent blindness may occur. **

**He wore a Dallas Cowboys jersey, **

**Western jeans and boots, and he smiled like he was God's gift to juvenile delinquent girls everywhere. Jason hated him instantly.**

**"Go away, Dylan," Piper grumbled. "I didn't ask to work with you."**

**"Ah, that's no way to be. This is your lucky day!" Dylan hooked his arm through hers and dragged her through the museum entrance. Piper shot one last look over her shoulder like, 911.**

**Leo got up and brushed himself off. "I hate that guy." He offered Jason his arm, like they should go skipping inside together. "'I'm Dylan. I'm so cool, I want to date myself, but I can't figure out how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!'"**

Larry laughed alongside Bobby, Dakota, Hank and, surprisingly, Jason. It wasn't just a weak chuckle either. No, he laughed loudly and deeply. Reyna stared at him in shock. He's praetor! He shouldn't show that level of emotion.

Octavian also filed that little display away for later.

**"Leo," Jason said, "you're weird."**

**"Yeah, you tell me that a lot." Leo grinned. "But if you don't remember me, that means I can reuse all my old jokes. Come on!"**

**Jason figured that if this was his best friend, his life must be pretty messed up; but he followed Leo into the museum.**

**They walked through the building, stopping here and there for Coach Hedge to lecture them with his megaphone, which alternately made him sound like a Sith Lord or blared out random comments like "The pig says oink."**

**Leo kept pulling out nuts, bolts, and pipe cleaners from the pockets of his army jacket and putting them together, like he had to keep his hands busy at all times.**

Demigod, Reyna thought.

**Jason was too distracted to pay much attention to the exhibits, but they were about the Grand Canyon and the Hualapai tribe, which owned the museum.**

**Some girls kept looking over at Piper and Dylan and snickering. Jason figured these girls were the popular clique. **

**They wore matching jeans and pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party.'**

**One of them said, "Hey, Piper, does your tribe run this place? Do you get in free if you do a rain dance?"**

Jason growled so softly no one noticed.

**The other girls laughed. Even Piper's so-called partner Dylan suppressed a smile.**

**Piper's snowboarding jacket sleeves hid her hands, but Jason got the feeling she was clenching her fists.**

**"My dad's Cherokee," she said. "Not Hualapai. 'Course, you'd need a few brain cells to know the difference, Isabel."**

Jason's dark look changed into another fit of laughter. Now, everyone, though many of them were laughing; Dakota, Bobby, Hank, and Larry, were all taking notice of their praetor's obvious displays of emotion that were so unlike him.

**Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise, so that she looked like an owl with a makeup addiction.**

**"Oh, sorry! Was your mom in this tribe? Oh, that's right. You never knew your mom."**

**Piper charged her, but before a fight could start, Coach Hedge barked, "Enough back there! Set a good example or I'll break out my baseball bat!"**

**The group shuffled on to the next exhibit, but the girls kept calling out little comments to Piper.**

**"Good to be back on the rez?" one asked in a sweet voice.**

**"Dad's probably too drunk to work," another said with fake sympathy. "That's why she turned klepto."**

**Piper ignored them, but Jason was ready to punch them himself. He might not remember Piper, or even who he was, but he knew he hated mean kids.**

**Leo caught his arm. "Be cool. Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they'd be all bowing down to her and screaming, 'We're not worthy!'"**

Gwendolyn looked quizzically around the room. "Did they say her last name?"

Reyna shook her head.

**"Why? What about her dad?"**

**Leo laughed in disbelief. "You're not kidding? You really don't remember that your girlfriend's dad—"**

**"Look, I wish I did, but I don't even remember her , much less her dad."**

**Leo whistled. "Whatever. We have to talk when we get back to the dorm." **

**They reached the far end of the exhibit hall, where some big glass doors led out to a terrace.**

**"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge announced. "You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork."**

"Yes," Jason said in a drawling voice. "Gods forbid that you accidentally got more paperwork. Never mind one of us would be dead."

Everyone stared at him in shock. No one used sarcasm. It was so undignified that it was practically prohibited. And Jason was practically spokesperson for the rules. Jason was, however, completely oblivious to the stares of his fellow readers.

**The coach opened the doors, and they all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them, live and in person. Extending over the edge was a horseshoe-shaped walkway made of glass, so you could see right through it.**

**"Man," Leo said. "That's pretty wicked."**

**Jason had to agree. Despite his amnesia and his feeling that he didn't belong there, he couldn't help being impressed.**

**The canyon was bigger and wider than you could appreciate from a picture. **

**They were up so high that birds circled below their feet. Five hundred feet down, **

Dakota stared at the book in Jason's hand. First, Jason admitted, if only in his head, that something was impressive. Second, no way. "Whoa."

**a river snaked along the canyon floor. Banks of storm clouds had moved overhead while they'd been inside, casting shadows like angry faces across the cliffs. As far as Jason could see in any direction, red and gray ravines cut through the desert like some crazy god had taken a knife to it.**

**Jason got a piercing pain behind his eyes. Crazy gods ... Where had he come up with that idea? **

Reyna was thinking. "So, you remember some things, but not how you remember them. The knowledge is there, but lacks the memories to support them."

Everyone pondered this as Jason continued to read.

**He felt like he'd gotten close to something important—something he should know about. He also got the unmistakable feeling he was in danger.**

**"You all right?" Leo asked. "You're not going to throw up over the side, are you? 'Cause I should've brought my camera."**

**Jason grabbed the railing. He was shivering and sweaty, but it had nothing to do with heights. **

"Well that's good," Hank said, smirking. "what kind of child of Jupiter would be afraid of heights." Everyone chuckled softly at the ridiculous thought.

**He blinked, and the pain behind his eyes subsided.**

**"I'm fine," he managed. "Just a headache."**

**Thunder rumbled overhead. A cold wind almost knocked him sideways.**

**"This can't be safe." Leo squinted at the clouds. "Storm's right over us, but it's clear all the way around. Weird, huh?"**

**Jason looked up and saw Leo was right. A dark circle of clouds had parked itself over the skywalk, but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly clear. Jason had a bad feeling about that.**

**"All right, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the storm like it bothered him too. "We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!"**

**The storm rumbled, and Jason's head began to hurt again. Not knowing why he did it, he reached into his jeans pocket and brought out a coin—a circle of gold the size of a half-dollar, but thicker and more uneven. Stamped on one side was a picture of a battleax.**

**On the other was some guy's face wreathed in laurels. The inscription said something like IVLIVS.**

**"Dang, is that gold?" Leo asked. "You been holding out on me!"**

Gwendolyn smiled slightly at that. "We haven't even finished the chapter and I would have totally guessed he would say that" The others chuckled softly as well.

**Jason put the coin away, wondering how he'd come to have it, and why he had the feeling he was going to need it soon.**

**"It's nothing," he said. "Just a coin."**

**Leo shrugged. Maybe his mind had to keep moving as much as his hands. **

**"Come on," he said. "Dare you to spit over the edge."**

**They didn't try very hard on the worksheet. For one thing, Jason was too distracted by the storm and his own mixed-up feelings. For another thing, he didn't have any idea how to "name three sedimentary strata you observe" or "describe two examples of erosion."**

**Leo was no help. He was too busy building a helicopter out of pipe cleaners.**

**"Check it out." He launched the copter. Jason figured it would plummet, but the pipecleaner blades actually spun. The little copter made it halfway across the canyon before it lost momentum and spiraled into the void.**

Larry stared. "Whoa. Talk about cool."

**"How'd you do that?" Jason asked.**

**Leo shrugged. "Would've been cooler if I had some rubber bands."**

**"Seriously," Jason said, "are we friends?"**

**"Last I checked."**

**"You sure? What was the first day we met? What did we talk about?"**

**"It was …" Leo frowned. "I don't recall exactly. I'm ADHD, man. You can't expect me to remember details."**

**"But I don't remember you at all . I don't remember anyone here. What if—"**

**"You're right and everyone else is wrong?" Leo asked. "You think you just appeared here this morning, and we've all got fake memories of you?"**

**A little voice in Jason's head said, **_**That's exactly what I think**_**.**

**But it sounded crazy. Everybody here took him for granted. Everyone acted like he was a normal part of the class—except for Coach Hedge.**

**"Take the worksheet." Jason handed Leo the paper. "I'll be right back."**

**Before Leo could protest, Jason headed across the skywalk.**

**Their school group had the place to themselves. Maybe it was too early in the day for tourists, or maybe the weird weather had scared them off. The Wilderness School kids had spread out in pairs across the skywalk. Most were joking around or talking. Some of the guys were dropping pennies over the side. About fifty feet away, Piper was trying to fill out her worksheet, but her stupid partner Dylan was hitting on her, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her that blinding white smile. **

**She kept pushing him away, and when she saw Jason she gave him a look like, Throttle this guy for me.**

_Gladly, _Jason thought. Where did that come from? He thought that for no reason. However, he said "That guy's a monster."

Larry smirked. "Really. What makes you say that? Is it the smile or that hit on Piper?"

Nico smirked.**(AN: I forgot he was even there.) **"I'd say it was the latter. Protective much?"

Shockingly, Jason blushed a deep red. Reyna was officially worried. Who was this? Jason doesn't show emotion to anyone. There's something wrong.

**Jason motioned for her to hang on. He walked up to Coach Hedge, who was leaning on his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds.**

**"Did you do this?" the coach asked him.**

**Jason took a step back. "Do what?" It sounded like the coach had just asked if he'd made the thunderstorm.**

**Coach Hedge glared at him, his beady little eyes glinting under the brim of his cap.**

**"Don't play games with me, kid. What are you doing here, and why are you messing up my job?"**

Octavian asked "what job?"

Nico paled slightly. If he was right, this was not good.

**"You mean...you don't know me?" Jason said. "I'm not one of your students?"**

**Hedge snorted. "Never seen you before today."**

**Jason was so relieved he almost wanted to cry. At least he wasn't going insane. He was in the wrong place. "Look, sir, I don't know how I got here. I just woke up on the school bus. All I know is I'm not supposed to be here."**

**"Got that right." Hedge's gruff voice dropped to a murmur, like he was sharing a secret.**

**"You got a powerful way with the Mist, kid, if you can make all these people think they know you; but you can't fool me. I've been smelling monster for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don't smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood. So—who are you, and where'd you come from?"**

**Most of what the coach said didn't make sense, but Jason decided to answer honestly.**

**"I don't know who I am. I don't have any memories. You've got to help me."**

**Coach Hedge studied his face like was trying to read Jason's thoughts.**

**"Great," Hedge muttered. "You're being truthful."**

"What do you know that can read thoughts?" Reyna asked worriedly. She'd never met anything like it.

**"Of course I am! And what was all that about monsters and half-bloods? Are those code words or something?"**

**Hedge narrowed his eyes. Part of Jason wondered if the guy was just nuts. But the other part knew better.**

**"Look, kid," Hedge said, "I don't know who you are. I just know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I got to protect three of you rather than two. Are you the special package? Is that it?"**

**"What are you talking about?"**

**Hedge looked at the storm. The clouds were getting thicker and darker, hovering right over the skywalk.**

**"This morning," Hedge said, "I got a message from camp. They said an extraction team is on the way. They're coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn't give me details. I thought to myself, Fine. The two I'm watching are pretty powerful, older than most. I know they're being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. I figure that's why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then you pop up out of nowhere. So, are you the special package?"**

Reyna sighed in relief. Good, someone from camp will be getting him. They'll help him get his memories back.

Octavian, on the other hand, asked "I wasn't away that camp had short men searching for Hald-bloods."

Jason looked at Octavian, just as confused, and said "We don't"

**The pain behind Jason's eyes got worse than ever. Half-bloods. Camp. Monsters. He still didn't know what Hedge was talking about, but the words gave him a massive brain freeze—like his mind was trying to access information that should've been there but wasn't.**

**He stumbled, and Coach Hedge caught him. For a short guy, the coach had hands like steel. "Whoa, there, cupcake. You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I'll just have to watch you, too, until the team gets here. We'll let the director figure things out."**

**"What director?" Jason said. "What camp?"**

**"Just sit tight. Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before—"**

Bobby sighed. "And you jinxed it."

Hazel looked at him. "Don't say that! What if something happens?"

**Lightning crackled overhead. The wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew into the Grand Canyon, and the entire bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, stumbling and grabbing the rails.**

**"I had to say something," Hedge grumbled. He bellowed into his megaphone: "Everyone inside! The cow says moo! Off the skywalk!"**

**"I thought you said this thing was stable!" Jason shouted over the wind.**

**"Under normal circumstances," Hedge agreed, "which these aren't. Come on!"**

Jason looked up. "That's it."

He handed the book to Reyna, who promptly began reading.

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**Well, that's it. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I got a review saying that the story isn't good because the characters don't talk very often, but that's sort of how I envisioned a Roman soldier. They really aren't supposed to show emotions. So, the characters don't really show that many emotions. Don't worry, the talking will get to be more often. It may be this chapter, it may be next chapter. It all depends on how long it takes for the characters to thaw out. Now look, I'm talking about them as if they're real. Well, if this isn't a sign of insanity…**

**I don't own Percy Jackson, anything in bold, or the characters.**

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**THE STORM CHURNED INTO A MINIATURE HURRICANE. Funnel clouds snaked toward the skywalk like the tendrils of a monster jellyfish.**

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what's going on?"

Gwen looked at him with disdain. "Well, if you'll shut up, we'll find out."

Bobby looked affronted. "Well."

**Kids screamed and ran for the building. The wind snatched away their notebooks, jackets, hats, and backpacks. Jason skidded across the slick floor.**

**Leo lost his balance and almost toppled over the railing, but Jason grabbed his jacket and pulled him back.**

Hazel sighed in relief. "I worried for a second."

Octavian looked at her like one would a piece of gum on the bottom of their shoe. "It's a book, who cares?"

**"Thanks, man!" Leo yelled**

**"Go, go, go!" said Coach Hedge.**

**Piper and Dylan were holding the doors open, herding the other kids inside. Piper's snowboarding jacket was flapping wildly, her dark hair all in her face. Jason thought she must've been freezing, but she looked calm and confident—telling the others it would be okay, encouraging them to keep moving.**

Gwen smiled. "Okay. Its official, I like her. Jason, I so want to meet her."

Jason was smiling slightly at this. he was thinking about how great Piper was under stress and that she'll handle life as a demigod really well.

Nico looked at Gwen. "Why are you telling Jason that?"

Reyna, who had been silently fuming, snapped "Yeah Gwen, Why?"

Gwen looked a little scared, but she said "Well he's the one to have met her in the story." Reyna shook her head violently and began reading.

**Jason, Leo, and Coach Hedge ran toward them, but it was like running through quicksand. The wind seemed to fight them, pushing them back.**

**Dylan and Piper pushed one more kid inside, then lost their grip on the doors. They slammed shut, closing off the skywalk.**

Dakota had just popped the lid on his bottle filled with red kool-aid and said "Ooh, that's not good."

Jason snapped at him "Ya think!" Outside, he was just angry. Inside, he was inexplicably worried about what will happen to Piper.

**Piper tugged at the handles. Inside, the kids pounded on the glass, but the doors seemed to be stuck.**

**"Dylan, help!" Piper shouted.**

**Dylan just stood there with an idiotic grin, his Cowboys jersey rippling in the wind, like he was suddenly enjoying the storm.**

**"Sorry, Piper," he said. "I'm done helping."**

Jason paled. _Oh no_, he thought. _I was right._ Reyna, however, was guilty to admit that she was somewhat happy that the brat was in danger. It wasn't very mature, but she felt that this girl was doing nothing good for Jason. He was changing, obviously for the worse, because of her.

**He flicked his wrist, and Piper flew backward, slamming into the doors and sliding to the skywalk deck.**

**"Piper!" Jason tried to charge forward, but the wind was against him, and Coach Hedge pushed him back.**

Larry smirked. "Ooh. Already crying her name. I feel some love in the air." Hank and Dakota, who had just finished his bottle of kool-aid guffawed along with him.

Octavian looked upon the seen with barely concealed disdain. This isn't how the Roman soldier should act. They should be calm, disciplined, and collected. That's why Jason, who is obviously very emotional, shouldn't be praetor.

**"Coach," Jason said, "let me go!"**

**"Jason, Leo, stay behind me," the coach ordered. "This is my fight. I should've known that was our monster."**

**"What?" Leo demanded. A rogue worksheet slapped him in the face, but he swatted it away. "What monster?"**

Nico sighed and had a very condescending expression. "Well, children, the Big Bad Bully turned out to be an unnamable monster that wants to kill you."

Hazel looked at her brother, concern lacing her features. "Nico, I'm pretty sure Leo's older than you." Nico's cheeks flushed and he murmered something unintelligible.

**The coach's cap blew off, and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps—like the knots cartoon characters get when they're bonked on the head. **

"Faun," everyone muttered in unison.

**Coach Hedge lifted his baseball bat—but it wasn't a regular bat anymore. Somehow it had changed into a crudely shaped tree-branch club, with twigs and leaves still attached.**

"Okay, why don't our fauns do that," Jason exclaimed. He couldn't figure out what was going on and it frustrated him. however, that frustration was diluted greatly because he was so fascinated while reading about Piper.

Reyna looked at him. "This faun is obviously crazy. Normal fauns are beggars. You know that."

Jason rolled his eyes at her. "I know that. Why can't they start acting like this faun, but less extreme."

Hazel looked at them. "Maybe it has something to do with where the faun is from. Or it could be age. Older fauns might just go crazy sometimes."

Octavian snorted. "Please. What would you know? You're just an insolent child."

"Octavian!" Jason snapped. "Don't speak to anyone like that. Show some respect."

Larry and Hank snickered at Octavian's expression and Bobby outright chuckled.

**Dylan gave him that psycho happy smile. "Oh, come on, Coach . Let the boy attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this. Isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season, and you didn't even know. **

**You're losing your nose, grandpa."**

Gwen looked affronted. "Talk about insulting. This faun is probable going to flay him alive now. And let's not forget, fauns are vegetarians!" She would know. A friend of hers had once said the same thing. Fauns are vicious when angered.

**The coach made an angry sound like an animal bleating. "That's it, cupcake. You're going down."**

**"You think you can protect three half-bloods at once, old man?" Dylan laughed. "Good luck."**

**Dylan pointed at Leo, and a funnel cloud materialized around him. Leo flew off the skywalk like he'd been tossed. Somehow he managed to twist in midair, and slammed sideways into the canyon wall. He skidded, clawing furiously for any handhold. Finally he grabbed a thin ledge about fifty feet below the skywalk and hung there by his fingertips.**

Hazel held her breath. This boy was just like Sammy. They even had the same last name. she didn't want him to die.

**"Help!" he yelled up at them. "Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"**

Despite the tense situation, Dakota, Hank, and Larry chickled.

**Coach Hedge cursed and tossed Jason his club. "I don't know who you are, kid, but I hope you're good. Keep that thing busy"—he stabbed a thumb at Dylan—"while I get Leo."**

**"Get him how?" Jason demanded. "You going to fly?"**

**"Not fly. Climb." Hedge kicked off his shoes, and Jason almost had a coronary. The coach didn't have any feet. He had hooves—goat's hooves. **

**Which meant those things on his head, Jason realized, weren't bumps. They were horns.**

**"You're a faun," Jason said.**

Everyone looked at Jason and said, in unison "Duh"

**"Satyr!" Hedge snapped.**

Hank was shocked. "What does that mean? What's a satyr?"

Reyna, equally shocked, shook her head. "It rings a bell, but I don't know."

**"Fauns are Roman. But we'll talk about that later."**

Larry looked at Jason and Reyna, both mystified. "Why would he go by satyr?"

They both just shook their heads.

**Hedge leaped over the railing. He sailed toward the canyon wall and hit hooves first. He bounded down the cliff with impossible agility, finding footholds no bigger than postage stamps, dodging whirlwinds that tried to attack him as he picked his way toward Leo.**

**"Isn't that cute!" Dylan turned toward Jason. "Now it's your turn, boy."**

**Jason threw the club. It seemed useless with the winds so strong, but the club flew right at Dylan, even curving when he tried to dodge, and smacked him on the head so hard he fell to his knees.**

Dakota shrugged. "Not bad. Not good, but not bad."

**Piper wasn't as dazed as she appeared. Her fingers closed around the club when it rolled next to her, but before she could use it, Dylan rose. Blood— golden blood—trickled from his forehead.**

Nico smiled evilly. "Ooh, what's this girl planning?"

**"Nice try, boy." He glared at Jason. "But you'll have to do better."**

**The skywalk shuddered. Hairline fractures appeared in the glass. **

**Inside the museum, kids stopped banging on the doors. They backed away, watching in terror.**

**Dylan's body dissolved into smoke, as if his molecules were coming unglued. He had the same face, the same brilliant white smile, but his whole form was suddenly composed of swirling black vapor, his eyes like electrical sparks in a living storm cloud.**

**He sprouted black smoky wings and rose above the skywalk. If angels could be evil, Jason decided, they would look exactly like this.**

Hazel and Gwen's faces both drained of color. Gwen muttered "oh that's not good."

**"You're a ventus ," Jason said, **

**though he had no idea how he knew that word. "A storm spirit."**

**Dylan's laugh sounded like a tornado tearing off a roof. "I'm glad I waited, demigod. Leo and Piper I've known about for weeks. Could've killed them at any time. But my mistress said a third was coming—someone special. She'll reward me greatly for your death!"**

**Two more funnel clouds touched down on either side of Dylan and turned into venti —ghostly young men with smoky wings and eyes that flickered with lightning.**

**Piper stayed down, pretending to be dazed, her hand still gripping the club. Her face was pale, but she gave Jason a determined look, and he understood the message:**

_**Keep their attention. I'll brain them from behind.**_

Larry and Hank cracked up. Dakota was chuckling into his drink. No one understood what was so funny, but Nico, smiling evilly, said "I like this girl." Gwen nodded in agreement.

**Cute, smart, and violent. Jason wished he remembered having her as a girlfriend.**

Hank chuckled loudly. "Oh, you do? Well, since you don't, can I have her?"

Jason, though he knew it was a joke, glared fiercely at Hank. For just a moment, he wanted to beat the crap out of Hank. Then, he came to his senses and looked away. However, Hank noticed and cringed slightly.

Octavian looked over all of this with immense disdain. "Get on with it."

**He clenched his fists and got ready to charge, but he never got a chance.**

**Dylan raised his hand, arcs of electricity running between his fingers, and blasted Jason in the chest.**

Hazel held her breath. Though she knew it wouldn't hurt him, being a son of Jupiter and all, it was still worrying.

**Bang! Jason found himself flat on his back. His mouth tasted like burning aluminum foil.**

**He lifted his head and saw that his clothes were smoking. **

**The lightning bolt had gone straight though his body and blasted off his left shoe. His toes were black with soot.**

With that, Hazel and, surprisingly Reyna, let out the breaths that they were holding.

**The storm spirits were laughing. The winds raged. Piper was screaming defiantly, but it all sounded tiny and far away.**

**Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw Coach Hedge climbing the cliff with Leo on his back. Piper was on her feet, desperately swinging the club to fend off the two extra storm spirits, but they were just toying with her. **

Reyna had a sort of grim satisfaction with the girl in trouble. It wasn't fair, she knew, but Jason seemed to be getting weaker while hearing about her.

**The club went right through their bodies like they weren't there. **

**And Dylan, a dark and winged tornado with eyes, loomed over Jason.**

**"Stop," Jason croaked. He rose unsteadily to his feet, and he wasn't sure who was more surprised: him, or the storm spirits.**

**"How are you alive?" Dylan's form flickered. "That was enough lightning to kill twenty men!"**

"His face would have been priceless," Larry chuckled.

**"My turn," Jason said.**

**He reached in his pocket and pulled out the gold coin. He let his instincts take over, flipping the coin in the air like he'd done it a thousand times. **

**He caught it in his palm, and suddenly he was holding a sword—a wickedly sharp double-edged weapon. The ridged grip fit his fingers perfectly, and the whole thing was gold—hilt, handle, and blade.**

Reyna sighed. "At least you know how to use IVLVS."

Jason nodded. He was glad that he still could use his sword, but he wanted to use it to help Piper. He didn't even know why. Roman soldiers don't let their emotions get the better of them. They don't need emotion, but he still seems to have his. It's strange. Jason thought that his emotions were gone, but reading this seems to have been bringing them back.

Gwen smiled. Unlike the other, Gwen embraced her emotions. After all, she's a daughter of Venus. Though she knows that emotions are distracting, she follows her own beliefs the greatest rulers ruled with emotions. However, she learned to suppress her emotions so that they don't shine through to the exterior long ago. She was a good actor.

**Dylan snarled and backed up. He looked at his two comrades and yelled, "Well? Kill him!"**

**The other storm spirits didn't look happy with that order, but they flew at Jason, their fingers crackling with electricity.**

**Jason swung at the first spirit. His blade passed through it, and the creature's smoky form disintegrated. The second spirit let loose a bolt of lightning, but Jason's blade absorbed the charge. Jason stepped in—one quick thrust, and the second storm spirit dissolved into gold powder.**

Nico nodded. "Good, get rid of the mangy little spirits."

Larry looked at him oddly. "Mangy little spirits?"

Nico shrugged, "It was the first thing to pop into my head." Larry nodded.

**Dylan wailed in outrage. He looked down as if expecting his comrades to re-form, but their gold dust remains dispersed in the wind. "Impossible! Who are you, half-blood?"**

**Piper was so stunned she dropped her club. "Jason, how … ?"**

Reyna made a sound of disgust. "Who is this idiotic girl?"

Jason then did something that had never been done before. Without even thinking about it, Jason reached over and smacked Reyna so hard over the head that she fell off of her chair. After a moment, Reyna looked up at him, complete shock registered in her features. Jason didn't even show the slightest bit of remorse, glaring down at her with hate filled eyes. Reyna was acting like one of the girls that Jason said he hated.

Everyone stared at Jason. Never have they seen him lose his calm exterior to that extent. Even Octavian, who was always looking to discredit praetors, was to shocked t think about anything else. After a moment of silence, Reyna pushed herself up off the ground and sat onto the chair and began reading.

**Then Coach Hedge leaped back onto the skywalk and dumped Leo like a sack of flour.**

**"Spirits, fear me!" Hedge bellowed, flexing his short arms. Then he looked around and realized there was only Dylan.**

**"Curse it, boy!" he snapped at Jason. "Didn't you leave some for me? I like a challenge!"**

This seemed to break the tension as Hank, Larry, Bobby, Dakota, and Nico all laughed.

**Leo got to his feet, breathing hard. He looked completely humiliated, his hands bleeding from clawing at the rocks. "Yo, Coach Supergoat, whatever you are—I just fell down the freaking Grand Canyon! Stop asking for challenges!"**

Gwen muttered "No kidding."

**Dylan hissed at them, but Jason could see fear in his eyes. "You have no idea how many enemies you've awakened, half-bloods. My mistress will destroy all demigods. This war you cannot win."**

**Above them, the storm exploded into a full-force gale. Cracks expanded in the skywalk.**

**Sheets of rain poured down, and Jason had to crouch to keep his balance.**

**A hole opened in the clouds—a swirling vortex of black and silver.**

**"The mistress calls me back!" Dylan shouted with glee. "And you, demigod, will come with me!"**

**He lunged at Jason, but Piper tackled the monster from behind. Even though he was made of smoke, Piper somehow managed to connect. Both of them went sprawling.**

Hazel smiled slightly. Piper really cared about Jason to be willing to put herself in danger.

**Leo, Jason, and the coach surged forward to help, but the spirit screamed with rage. He let loose a torrent that knocked them all backward. Jason and Coach Hedge landed on their butts. Jason's sword skidded across the glass. Leo hit the back of his head and curled on his side, dazed and groaning. Piper got the worst of it. She was thrown off Dylan's back and hit the railing, tumbling over the side until she was hanging by one hand over the abyss.**

"NO!" Jason cried out. No, she couldn't have fallen. That couldn't have happened. His hands twitched slightly and there was a slight quiver in his voice when he said "That can't have happened."

Reyna felt like crying out YES! When the bitch went over. This is the girl that changed Jason. He's acting rashly and with emotions and that isn't going to allow him to keep his place as praetor.

Octavian noted the reaction and filed it away for later.

Hazel sympathized with Jason. It must be horrible to see someone you love go over like that. She didn't even want to think about what she would do.

Nico was pale. This isn't good. This isn't good. Piper seems great. He wants to meet her. The same sentiments were felt by Bobby, Hank, Larry, and Dakota, who were all cringing.

Gwen had mixed feelings about all of this. On the one hand, she was upset that Piper went over. On the other hand, she was absolutely sure Jason would save her. So, she was mostly happy. It's a good thing to express your emotions. Plus, even a blind man would see the obvious love, Gwen internally squealed at the thought, that Jason felt for Piper. Gwen wished there was someone to share all of this with. The fact was, she was the only daughter of Venus to exist at Camp Jupiter. Only the string survive and most of her siblings were killed by Lupa for being weak. That's part of the reason why Gwen hated Camp Jupiter so much. The other was she hated all of the rules.

**Jason started toward her, but Dylan screamed, "I'll settle for this one!"**

**He grabbed Leo's arm and began to rise, towing a half-conscious Leo below him. The storm spun faster, pulling them upward like a vacuum cleaner.**

**"Help!" Piper yelled. "Somebody!"**

**Then she slipped, screaming as she fell.**

Jason seemed to be having tremors. He was shaking and worry lace his gaze. He looked as if he wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, fill it with dirt, and stop this from ever being a possibility.

Reyna's anger was slowly fading, but she still had enough in her to wish that death hurt the slut. But immediately afterwards, she felt guilty about wanting someone to die.

**"Jason, go!" Hedge yelled. "Save her!"**

**The coach launched himself at the spirit with some serious goat fu—lashing out with his hooves, knocking Leo free from the spirit's grasp. Leo dropped safely to the floor, but Dylan grappled the coach's arms instead. Hedge tried to head-butt him, then kicked him and called him a cupcake. They rose into the air, gaining speed.**

**Coach Hedge shouted down once more, "Save her! I got this!" Then the satyr and the storm spirit spiraled into the clouds and disappeared.**

**Save her? Jason thought. She's gone!**

**But again his instincts won. He ran to the railing, thinking, I'm a lunatic, and jumped over the side.**

"What," Reyna cried out. She looked at Jason like he was a lunatic. "Are you insane?"

Jason glared at her coldly. "I had to save her. What could I do?"

"How about let her die?"

Everyone gasped at that except Jason. He glared at Reyna so fiercely that she was moderately lucky that she was still alive

Reyna took a deep breath. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that's she's gone. Killing yourself won't save her."

Nico looked upon the seen. Reyna was driving him nuts, but he would like to finish the chapter before killing her. Therefore, glaring fiercely at her, he said "Reyna, Read."

**Jason wasn't scared of heights. He was scared of being smashed against the canyon floor five hundred feet below. **

**He figured he hadn't accomplished anything except for dying along with Piper, but he tucked in his arms and plummeted headfirst. The sides of the canyon raced past like a film on fast-forward. His face felt like it was peeling off.**

**In a heartbeat, he caught up with Piper, who was flailing wildly. He tackled her waist and closed his eyes, waiting for death. Piper screamed. The wind whistled in Jason's ears.**

**He wondered what dying would feel like. **

_Not good,_ Hazel thought. _Not good at all._

**He was thinking, probably not so good. He wished somehow they could never hit bottom.**

**Suddenly the wind died. Piper's scream turned into a strangled gasp. Jason thought they must be dead, but he hadn't felt any impact.**

**"J-J-Jason," Piper managed.**

**He opened his eyes. They weren't falling. They were floating in midair, a hundred feet above the river.**

"WHAT," everyone shouted.

"You can fly," Hank shouted.

"Why didn't you show us that before?" Larry cried indignantly.

"So unfair," came from Bobby and Dakota.

Reyna sat on her chair staring. Why hasn't Jason shown that skill before? Why only now.

Gwen smiled. It was so romantic. He developed a new power just to save her. Aww.

Hazel thought _Good, she's safe._

Jason was just staring at the book. He had never even thought of flying. But it would be so cool.

**He hugged Piper tight, and she repositioned herself so she was hugging him too. They were nose to nose. Her heart beat so hard, Jason could feel it through her clothes.**

**Her breath smelled like cinnamon. She said, "How did you—"**

**"I didn't," he said. "I think I would know if I could fly…"**

Bobby looked at him strangely. "Did you know you could fly?"

Jason, still dumbstruck, simply shook his head.

**But then he thought: I don't even know who I am.**

**He imagined going up. Piper yelped as they shot a few feet higher. They weren't exactly floating, Jason decided. He could feel pressure under his feet like they were balancing at the top of a geyser.**

**"The air is supporting us," he said.**

**"Well, tell it to support us more! Get us out of here!"**

Reyna shook her head. "Is this girl stupid? She makes it sound like—"

"Shut UP," Jason very nearly growled.

Reyna backed away slightly.

**Jason looked down. The easiest thing would be to sink gently to the canyon floor. Then he looked up. The rain had stopped. The storm clouds didn't seem as bad, but they were still rumbling and flashing. There was no guarantee the spirits were gone for good.**

**He had no idea what had happened to Coach Hedge. And he'd left Leo up there, barely conscious.**

Gwen smiled at Jason. You're a good friend."

Nico smiled slightly at that. It was true. In many ways, Jason was a lot like Percy.

**"We have to help them," Piper said, as if reading his thoughts. "Can you—"**

**"Let's see." Jason thought Up, and instantly they shot skyward.**

**The fact he was riding the winds might've been cool under different circumstances, but he was too much in shock. As soon as they landed on the skywalk, they ran to Leo.**

Hank looked at him. "But dude, your flying!" he shouted the last part.

Jason smiled and shook his head.

**Piper turned Leo over, and he groaned. His army coat was soaked from the rain. His curly hair glittered gold from rolling around in monster dust. But at least he wasn't dead.**

**"Stupid … ugly … goat," he muttered.**

**"Where did he go?" Piper asked.**

**Leo pointed straight up. "Never came down. Please tell me he didn't actually save my life."**

"Twice," Larry said matter-of-factly.

**"Twice," Jason said.**

Bobby gasped. "You think like Jason!"

Jason looked at him. "And that's a bad thing?"

Bobby gulped. "Umm, no?"

Jason smirked. "Good."

**Leo groaned even louder. "What happened? The tornado guy, the gold sword … I hit my head. That's it, right? I'm hallucinating?"**

Nico chuckled and said "Well if you are then we have been for a long time."

**Jason had forgotten about the sword. He walked over to where it was lying and picked it up. The blade was well balanced. On a hunch he flipped it. Midspin, the sword shrank back into a coin and landed in his palm.**

**"Yep," Leo said. "Definitely hallucinating."**

Octavian rolled his eyes. "Yes. This is all a hallucination. And you're an idiot."

Out of nowhere, a hand slapped him across the head. However, no one could tell whose it was.

**Piper shivered in her rain-soaked clothes. "Jason, those things—"**

**"Venti," he said. "Storm spirits."**

**"Okay. You acted like … like you'd seen them before. Who are you?"**

**He shook his head. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I don't know."**

**The storm dissipated. The other kids from the Wilderness School were staring out the glass doors in horror. Security guards were working on the locks now, but they didn't seem to be having any luck.**

Reyna looked at Jason. "That's a good thing. You don't want them around. They're just mortals."

Hazel looked at Reyna oddly. "We're all half mortal. Well, except Octavian. He's way more mortal." Octavian looked scandalized.

"How dare you insult me."

Hazel just ignored him.

**"Coach Hedge said he had to protect three people," Jason remembered. "I think he meant us."**

**"And that thing Dylan turned into …" Piper shuddered. "God, I can't believe it was hitting on me. He called us... what, demigods?"**

**Leo lay on his back, staring at the sky. He didn't seem anxious to get up. "Don't know what demi means," he said. "But I'm not feeling too godly. You guys feeling godly?"**

Bobby and Dakota laughed. "I love this guy."

**There was a brittle sound like dry twigs snapping, and the cracks in the skywalk began to widen.**

**"We need to get off this thing," Jason said. "Maybe if we—"**

**"Ohhh-kay," Leo interrupted. "Look up there and tell me if those are flying horses."**

Hazel perked up at this. Then, however, she frowned. There's only one Pegasus at camp and it belonged to Reyna.

**At first Jason thought Leo had hit his head too hard. Then he saw a dark shape descending from the east—too slow for a plane, too large for a bird. As it got closer he could see a pair of winged animals—gray, four-legged, exactly like horses—except each one had a twenty-foot wingspan. And they were pulling a brightly painted box with two wheels: a chariot.**

Ocatavian was mystified. "Who are these people?"

Everyone looked at him. they all bore the same mystified expressions as he did.

**"Reinforcements," he said. "Hedge told me an extraction squad was coming for us."**

**"Extraction squad?" Leo struggled to his feet. "That sounds painful."**

**"And where are they extracting us to?" Piper asked.**

**Jason watched as the chariot landed on the far end of the skywalk. The flying horses tucked in their wings and cantered nervously across the glass, as if they sensed it was near breaking. Two teenagers stood in the chariot—a tall blond girl maybe a little older than Jason, **

"Okay, who's the blond?" Hank said. He looked around.

Reyna looked at him. "It's obviously one of our campers."

Nico however, paled dramatically. _No_, he thought. _It_ _couldn't_ _be._

**and a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. **

**They both wore jeans and orange T-shirts, with shields tossed over their backs. **

"Orange," Jason stated, mystified. Nico somehow got even paler at that.

Larry looked around the room. "But our shirts are purple."

Gwen looked at him. "We know that. They must have been in and orange mood that day. It happens to me sometimes."

Dakota looked around the room. "Who cares? So they're wearing weird shirts. Get over it."

**The girl leaped off before the chariot had even finished moving. She pulled a knife and ran toward Jason's group while the bulky dude was reining in the horses.**

**"Where is he?" the girl demanded. Her gray eyes were fierce and a little startling.**

**"Where's who?" Jason asked.**

Hank looked at the book oddly. "Where's who? Jason's the one that went missing from camp. She would be there looking for him."

Nico paled even further, now resembling a ghost more so than a boy.

**She frowned like his answer was unacceptable. Then she turned to Leo and Piper.**

**"What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"**

**The coach's first name was Gleeson? Jason might've laughed if the morning hadn't been quite so weird and scary. Gleeson Hedge: football coach, goat man, protector of demigods. Sure. Why not?**

**Leo cleared his throat. "He got taken by some … tornado things."**

**"Venti," Jason said. "Storm spirits."**

**The blond girl arched an eyebrow. "You mean anemoi thuellai ? That's the Greek term. Who are you, and what happened?"**

Octavian looked at everyone. "These people cannot be trusted! They're thinking like Greeks. Next thing you know, they'll have us painting pictures instead of training. Pathetic."

Jason looked at him weirdly. "This is coming from the guy that sacrifices stuffed animals to the gods?"

Octavian simply glared at that.

**Jason did his best to explain, though it was hard to meet those intense gray eyes. About halfway through the story, the other guy from the chariot came over. He stood there glaring at them, his arms crossed. He had a tattoo of a rainbow on his biceps, which seemed a little unusual.**

Bobby bursted out laughing. "A rainbow tattoo?"

**When Jason had finished his story, the blond girl didn't look satisfied. "No, no, no! She told me he would be here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer."**

**"Annabeth," **

Reyna paled. She looked at Jason and fiercely said "Don't trust her!"

Jason was startled, but turned back to the book without acknowledging her outburst.

**the bald guy grunted. "Check it out." He pointed at Jason's feet. Jason hadn't thought much about it, but he was still missing his left shoe, which had been blown off by the lightning. His bare foot felt okay, but it looked like a lump of charcoal.**

**"The guy with one shoe," said the bald dude. "He's the answer."**

**"No, Butch," the girl insisted. "He can't be. I was tricked." She glared at the sky as though it had done something wrong. "What do you want from me?" she screamed.**

"Somebody's crazy," Dakota said in a sing song voice.

Octavian looked at him. "Your dad's the god of insanity. How can you call anyone crazy?"

"Besides," Gwen stated. "She's not crazy. She's lost love."

Octavian looked at her with hatred. However, Nico silently agreed. He didn't know what happened, but something big must have happened to drive Annabeth to where she seemed in te book.

**"What have you done with him?"**

**The skywalk shuddered, and the horses whinnied urgently.**

**"Annabeth," said the bald dude, Butch, "we gotta leave. Let's get these three to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might come back."**

Hank sighed in relief. "Good. Let's get them back to camp."

Reyna looked at him. "There isn't an Annabeth or a Butch at Camp Jupiter."

Hazel looked at her. "Maybe they're new. They might not have come to camp yet, but they may sometime in the future."

Nico got even paler. _So they were going to find out about the others._

**She fumed for a moment. "Fine." She fixed Jason with a resentful look. "We'll settle this later."**

**She turned on her heel and marched toward the chariot.**

**Piper shook her head. "What's her problem? What's going on?"**

**"Seriously," Leo agreed.**

**"We have to get you out of here," Butch said. "I'll explain on the way."**

**"I'm not going anywhere with her." Jason gestured toward the blonde. "She looks like she wants to kill me."**

Larry looked at Jason. "Someone's scared of the blond."

Jason shrugged. "Well, she seemed like she's crazy."

Larry stared wide eyed. "So you're not even going to try to deny it?"

"What's there to deny? I'm just as human as everyone else. I get scared."

Everyone stared at him in shock. Reyna was hoping she could hunt down everyone in these books and kill them to set him back on course. Hazel thought that it's good to have a praetor that admits that he's human. Octavian was thinking about every way he can use this against Jason. Bobby, Dakota, Hank, and Larry just stared in shock.

Gwen was smiling. It's good that he was starting to act like a person, not some robot. It can only help New Rome.

Nico was thinking that he hasn't even met them yet, doesn't even know they exist, and he's already taking on a Greek view of things. The view that being human is a good thing because there are so many things that humans experience that can't be felt while bottling up emotions. This was good.

**Butch hesitated. "Annabeth's okay. You gotta cut her some slack. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to her problem."**

**"What problem?" Piper asked.**

**"She's been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing three days," Butch said. "She's going out of her mind with worry. She hoped he'd be here."**

**"Who?" Jason asked.**

Nico gulped. So now he'll figure out who's causing Annabeth all of this stress.

**"Her boyfriend," Butch said. "A guy named Percy Jackson."**

Reyna looked up. "That's the end of it."

Gwen held out her hand for the book and without a word, Reyna handed it to her.

* * *

**So…after rereading the Son of Neptune, I have come to the realization that each Cohort has two centurions. Therefore, I would like everyone that reads this to submit a demigod or legacy. The name just has to submitted, their godly ancestor, what cohort they lead, and any additional info. I want to make it clear that I will decide their personalitites. If you don't want to give complete creative control, don't submit. On 2/26/12, the offer ends. If I don't have any that I like, I'll just make up my own.**

**That being said…**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I have had some people saying that Jason and Reyna are a little off. They think that Jason shouldn't have feelings for Piper yet and Reyna is too extreme. Well, I have a reason for both of those things. First, when Jason first wakes up in TLH, he immediately likes Reyna. So, I thought it would be a good idea for him to like her immediately. Plus, someone has to be defensive of her with all of Reyna's criticism. This brings me to my second topic. Reyna. Yes, she's a little extreme. In SON, she is very level headed, but I always sort of pictured Jason bringing out the passion in her. And let's not forget, these are the people that think being civilized is getting in the thick of things and gutting each other. If she likes Jason, she would be very territorial. Lastly, I know Jason probably had the power to fly at Camp Jupiter, but I just loved the idea of him developing a new power to save Piper. What can I say? I'm a romantic. Unrealistic, maybe, but these people can shoot lightning. By their standards, nothing is weird.**

**Disclaimer: all in bold, the characters, and the world belong to Rick Riordan**

* * *

**AFTER A MORNING OF STORM SPIRIT'S, goat men, and flying boyfriends, Piper should've been losing her mind. Instead, all she felt was dread. It's starting, she thought. Just like the dream said.**

Suspicion flickered in Reyna's eyes. She knew that this girl couldn't be trusted. If she was a new demigod, she wouldn't know anything.

Everyone else's eyes were wary. However, Jasonst was tinged with worry. Whatever, was upsetting her must be bad. She didn't seem like the kind of person to feel dread often.

**She stood in back of the chariot with Leo and Jason, while the bald guy, Butch, handled the reins, and the blond girl, Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Piper's jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.**

**The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open, so Piper wondered if Jason would catch her again if she fell. That had been the most disturbing part of the morning—not that Jason could fly, but that he'd held her in his arms and yet didn't know who she was.**

Sadness flashed through Jason's gaze. He wished he knew her. She seemed great. It was interesting. _At this time the yesterday_, he thought_, I was hung up over Reyna. Now, I really couldn't care less about her. Okay, that's a lie. There are still felling there. But they pale in comparison to what he's feeling toward Piper._

_It isn't even love, so to speak. It's more like a deep longing_. He wanted to meet her. Just to be near her would have been satisfactory.

**All semester she'd worked on a relationship, trying to get Jason to notice her as more than a friend. Finally she'd gotten the big dope to kiss her. The last few weeks had been the best of her life. And then, three nights ago, the dream had ruined everything—that horrible voice, giving her horrible news. She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Jason.**

**Now she didn't even have him. It was like someone had wiped his memory, and she was stuck in the worst "do over" of all time. She wanted to scream. Jason stood right next to her: those sky blue eyes, close-cropped blond hair, that cute little scar on his upper lip. **

Reyna looked at him. "I never even noticed that."

The same thought ran through everyone's head.

Octavian was smiling maliciously. He couldn't wait to have proof that these people were dangerous.

**His face was kind and gentle, but always a little sad. And he just stared at the horizon, not even noticing her.**

**Meanwhile, Leo was being annoying, as usual. "This is so cool!" He spit a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"**

**"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."**

"What?" rang through the room. Hank looked around. "Our camp is called Camp Jupiter."

**"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. She hated that word. She'd been called a half-blood too many times—half Cherokee, half white—and it was never a compliment. **

Jason looked sullen. How dare anyone mock someone for being born? It wasn't her fault. Plus, she's the daughter of a GODDESS! What kind of parent could they want? Okay, Jason conceded. The gods weren't around often.

Nico smiled slightly. "I think she's going to like the new meaning of half-blood."

**"Is that some kind of bad joke?"**

**"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."**

**Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."**

Dakota cackled. Hank and Larry were guffawing loudly at that.

**Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"**

Bobby laughed. "My thoughts exactly."

**"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.**

**"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."**

**"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."**

**"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.**

Jason shook his head. "Don't antagonize the guy. He's flying."

**"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.**

**"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're … you think we're—"**

**Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"**

Gwen ringed. "That's not good."

Reyna looked around. "Why is Jupiter attacking his own son?"

Nico looked at her. "Maybe it's not Jupiter." _Maybe it's Zeus._

Reyna scoffed. "Please. Who else can control lightning?"

**Piper stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot.**

**The wind roared. Piper glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot—except these looked more like horses than angels.**

**She started to say, "Why are they—"**

**"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."**

Reyna put her head down. She didn't understand. She was usually a level headed person, she liked to think, but she is making stupid comments and actions without reason.

Nico smirked. "Now aren't you glad we didn't make a bet."

**Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred.**

**Piper's stomach crawled into her throat. Her vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.**

"Cool," rang through the room. Hazel looked at the book longingly. "I want that."

**A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. Piper saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, **

Octavian was enraged. "Greek! How dare she think anything good came from those disgusting people?"

Everyone was a little angry at this except for Nico, Gwen, and Jason.

Nico looked around. "Didn't Greek culture influence Rome?"

Reyna looked at him. "Yes. But we took their ideas and perfected them."

Nico saw red. "Just out of curiosity, what was wrong with them before?"

Jason spoke up. "Nothing. They just weren't very godly. Well, that's what Lupa tells us."

Gwen looked at him. "You know, I never understood that. How could a god not be godly?"

Reyna intervened. Her voice was tired and irritated, like talking about the Greeks irritated her. "They were too soft. They interacted like humans all of the time. They rarely invoked their godly power. They just didn't live up to the power they had."

**a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But before she could really process all she was seeing, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.**

**Annabeth and Butch tried to maintain control. The pegasi labored to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they seemed exhausted from their burst of speed, and bearing the chariot and the weight of five people was just too much.**

**"The lake!" Annabeth yelled. "Aim for the lake!"**

Hank cried indignantly. "We don't have a lake!"

Octavian leaned toward the book. What secrets were about to be revealed? Was the camp about to change locations?

Hazel looked at everyone. "I don't think that this is Camp Jupiter."

"Don't be ridiculous," Reyna snapped. "Of course it is. There's no other safe place."

Jason silently agreed with Hazel. However, he wasn't in the mood to argue with Reyna."

**Piper remembered something her dad had once told her, about hitting water from up high being as bad as hitting cement.**

Nico cringed. "That's not good."

Larry looked at him. the stare clearly said shut up.

**And then— BOOM .**

**The biggest shock was the cold. She was underwater, so disoriented that she didn't know which way was up.**

**She just had time to think: This would be a stupid way to die.**

Bobby, ever the one to relieve tension, said "It would be pretty stupid." However, his attempt failed dismally.

**Then faces appeared in the green murk—girls with long black hair and glowing yellow eyes. They smiled at her, grabbed her shoulders, and hauled her up.**

Octavian looked around. "Does anyone know what those are?"

Hazel looked up. "Maybe campers?" but everyone knew it wasn't true.

**They tossed her, gasping and shivering, onto the shore. Nearby, Butch stood in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere. **

Hazel smiled. This girl cared about horses, too. Hazel decided that she liked her.

**Jason, Leo, and Annabeth were already on shore, surrounded by kids giving them blankets and asking questions. Somebody took Piper by the arms and helped her stand. Apparently kids fell into the lake a lot, **

Reyna was indignant. "We don't have a lake!"

Needless to say, after hearing it so often, she was ignored.

**because a detail of campers ran up with big bronze leaf blower–looking things and blasted Piper with hot air; and in about two seconds her clothes were dry.**

Dakota looked up curiously. "What are those? And where can I find them?"

Reyna looked at him. "Clearly, this is fiction. The book is probably using Jason because we can relate to him. None of it is real."

Jason looked at her skeptically. No matter what she thought, this was too real to be untrue.

**There were at least twenty campers milling around—the youngest maybe nine, the oldest college age, eighteen or nineteen—and all of them had orange T-shirts like Annabeth's. Piper looked back at the water and saw those strange girls just below the surface, their hair floating in the current. They waved like, toodle-oo , and disappeared into the depths. A second later the wreckage of the chariot was tossed from the lake and landed nearby with a wet crunch.**

Nicosighed. Naiads.

**"Annabeth!" A guy with a bow and quiver on his back pushed through the crowd. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"**

Hazel looked at the book longingly. "There are enough horses that they can have their own chariots? Great."

Octavian looked at her like she was an idiot. "Didn't Reyna already say that this wasn't real?"

**"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."**

**Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Jason. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"**

**"Claimed?" Leo asked.**

**Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, "Any sign of Percy?"**

Octavian was puzzled. "Who is this guy?"

**"No," Annabeth admitted.**

**The campers muttered. Piper had no idea who this guy Percy was, but his disappearance seemed to be a big deal.**

_You have no idea, _Nico thought.

**Another girl stepped forward—tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup. **

**Somehow she managed to make jeans and an orange T-shirt look glamorous. She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention, then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a Dumpster. **

Jason looked nauseous. "Please, anyone. Get that girl away from me."

Bobby, Dakota, and Hank snickered at his discomfort.

**Piper knew this girl's type. She'd dealt with a lot of girls like this at Wilderness School and every other stupid school her father had sent her to. Piper knew instantly they were going to be enemies.**

**"Well," the girl said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."**

There were cries of outrage from everyone. Jason, though, was the worst. This girl just insulted two great friends of his. Well, Piper may be more someday, but as of that moment, they were friends.

Octavian cried with glee. Finally, someone else saw how useless Jason was.

Nico was debating how to kill Drew.

Hank, Larry, Dakota, and Bobby were all just pissed.

Hazel just didn't like mean people.

Reyna partially agreed. She didn't like Piper. She thought it a waste to devote energy to finding her. But she didn't hate her. She didn't want her dead.

**Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"**

**"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"**

**Piper had the same questions, but a wave of anxiety washed over her. Worth the trouble. If they only knew about her dream. They had no idea…**

**"Jason," Annabeth said, "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew,"—she frowned at the glamour girl—"all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."**

Gwen smiled. "I like that attitude." She sighed wistfully. "I wish Lupa had it."

Octavian looked at her. "Lupa doesn't have it because that attitude is stupid. If anyone that comes is allowed into camp, then we'll have a bunch of riff raff walking around." He snorted in disgust.

Gwen glared at him. It was odd for people to see such a dark gaze on such a usually happy person. "I'd gladly take riff raff if it meant having siblings."

Octavian looked at her. "That just proves why you are a fo—"

What she was would never be known because Hazel hit him over the head and motioned for them to continue reading.

**"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."**

**Drew sniffed. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"**

**Piper stepped forward, ready to smack her, but Annabeth said, "Piper, stop."**

**Piper did. She wasn't a bit scared of Drew, but Annabeth didn't seem like somebody she wanted for an enemy.**

Nico shook his head. So true.

**"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth said, with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."**

**"Would somebody tell me what claimed means?" Piper asked.**

**Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away. At first Piper thought she'd done something wrong. Then she realized their faces were bathed in a strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch behind her. She turned and almost forgot how to breathe.**

**Floating over Leo's head was a blazing holographic image —a fiery hammer.**

Everyone in the room whispered the same thing. "Vulcan."

**"That," Annabeth said, "is claiming."**

**"What'd I do?" Leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" **

**He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.**

**"This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse—"**

Jason looked up. "What curse?"

**"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"**

**"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"**

**All eyes turned to him.**

**"Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?"**

**"I'm not sure."**

**"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek . **

Bobby, Dakota, and Hank all laughed. Larry however, cried "How can you not like Star Trek?"

Nico looked at him. "Star Trek is boring. And isn't it like really old?"**(AN:I really don't know, but I think old when I think Star Trek)**

**What are you talking about?"**

**"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."**

Reyna looked around. "Why do they keep using Greek names?"

"Maybe…" Hazel began. However, she didn't want to think about it.

**The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of what? Who?"**

**Annabeth turned to the guy with the bow. "Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk-mates in Cabin Nine."**

**"Sure, Annabeth."**

**"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"**

**"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." **

Everyone laughed save Octavian.

**Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins.**

**Annabeth turned her attention back to Jason. Usually Piper didn't like it when other girls checked out her boyfriend, but Annabeth didn't seem to care that he was a good-looking guy. **

**She studied him more like he was a complicated blueprint. Finally she said, "Hold out your arm."**

Jason looked uncomfortable, much to everyone's amusement.

**Piper saw what she was looking at, and her eyes widened.**

**Jason had taken off his windbreaker after his dip in the lake, leaving his arms bare, and on the inside of his right forearm was a tattoo. How had Piper never noticed it before?**

Dakota sung. "Mist."

**She'd looked at Jason's arms a million times. The tattoo couldn't have just appeared, but it was darkly etched, impossible to miss: a dozen straight lines like a bar code, and over that an eagle with the letters SPQR.**

**"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said. "Where did you get them?"**

**Jason shook his head. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."**

**The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a look at Jason's tattoo. The marks seemed to bother them a lot— almost like a declaration of war.**

**"They look burned into your skin," Annabeth noticed.**

Everyone except the children of Pluto and Octavian flinched. The Pluto two because they hadn't felt it. Octavian because he doesn't care about the pain. It is a sign of a Roman warrior to not flinch.

**"They were," Jason said. Then he winced as if his head was aching. "I mean … I think so. I don't remember."**

**No one said anything. It was clear the campers saw Annabeth as the leader. They were waiting for her verdict.**

"There is no Annabeth!" Reyna yelled.

Jason was absolutely sure that this was real. He was also sure that he had never been to this place.

**"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Annabeth decided. "Drew, would you—"**

"Chiron," Reyna said. She heard that name somewhere before. She couldn't remember where, but it was important for whatever reason.

Jason was having different problems. "Why her?"

This of course, made everyone laugh but Reyna and Octavian. Reyna was too distracted and Octavian wrinkled his nose in disgust.

**"Absolutely." Drew laced her arm through Jason's. **

**"This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's … an interesting guy." She flashed Piper a smug look and led Jason toward the big blue house on the hill.**

"Hate her," Jason muttered. Everyone stared at him. He was usually such a nice guy. No one had ever actually heard him say that he hated anyone. In fact, even Octavian was dumbstruck.

**The crowd began to disperse, until only Annabeth and Piper were left.**

**"Who's Chiron?" Piper asked. "Is Jason in some kind of trouble?"**

**Annabeth hesitated. "Good question, Piper. Come on, I'll give you a tour. We need to talk."**

"Done," Gwen announced.

Nico held out his hand and Gwen silently handed him the book. Everyone desperately wanted to find out what happened.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading the chapter. Sorry it took so long. Thing is, major writers' block. Problem that s usually solved by doing some reading. My problem is that I can't write a story for a book that I'm not reading at the current time. So when I read The Mortal Instruments, my favorite books, I just couldn't get back into writing. Today I forced myself to read some PJ FF to get back in the rhythm and finish this chapter. The next one won't be for another week or so at the least. Sorry. I know some might hate me. Honestly, I'd hate myself, but I can't write when I'm not interested in the books at the time.**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


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